Major changes brewing for FIBA World Cup

Depending on how you treat international basketball, the news that FIBA has undergone a major overhaul that could drastically impact the participation of NBA players will leave you either delighted or disappointed. They include:

* Beginning in 2019, pushing the four-year World Cup cycle back a year so as not to continue bumping heads with soccer’s equivalent showcase, AKA the most popular sporting event on the planet.

* Implementing a two-year qualification period that will include six windows — November (2017), February, June, September, November (2018) and February (2019).

While the prospect of playing international games that actually mean something within US borders is exciting, astute fans will notice that four of those windows fall directly during the regular season, and a fifth that could interfere with the Finals.

ESPN’s Marc Stein dug into the details at length, pointing out that such breaks for international play are commonplace in soccer. The difference being that they’re an accepted part of the culture, wheres Stein quotes a source saying that the NBA has zero interest in altering its schedule to accommodate qualifiers.

It’s doubtful the changes will have serious impact on USA Basketball, which prioritizes the Olympics. (Personally, I love any excuse to watch Team USA no matter what the competition.) Witness the so-called “B Team” which rolled to victory in Turkey at the 2010 Worlds.

As Stein points out, the USA should should have no problem earning one of 32 slots — up from 24, another change — even if it has to rely on D-Leaguers for most of the qualification period.

The bigger adjustments will take place overseas, where NBA players — think Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker — who are more integral to their national teams might not be able to participate.

While those stars will either be retired or at the end of their careers by the time the new schedule is implemented, it promises to be a potentially thorny issue as FIBA attempts to reinvent the World Cup as international basketball’s premier event.